“Why do we disagree about climate change?” Chances are whatever answer you give will be treated in this comprehensive view of the phenomenon. For Mike Hulme presents “climate change as an idea as much as ..a physical phenomenon that can be observed, quantified and measured.”

After an exhaustive coverage of various perspectives on climate change Hulme concludes that we “should use climate change both as a magnifying glass and as a mirror…this condition of climate change in which we are now embroiled may teach and empower us to embark on different projects from those that come easily to us…let us at least recognize that the sources of our disagreement about climate change lie deep within us, in our values and in our sense of identity and purpose. They do not reside ‘out there’ a result of our inability to grasp knowingly some ultimate physical realty… disagreements….should always be a form of enlightenment” (@362-364).